Unicode releases Common Locale Data Repository, Version 1.2

Mountain View, CA, November 4, 2004 - The Unicode® Consortium announced today the
release of new versions of the Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR 1.2) and the Locale
Data Markup Language specification (LDML 1.2), providing key building blocks for software
to support the world's languages. This new release contains data for 232 locales, covering
72 languages and 108 territories. There are also 63 draft locales in the process of being
developed, covering an additional 27 languages and 28 territories.

To support users in different languages, programs must not only use translated text,
but must also be adapted to local conventions. These conventions differ by language or
region and include the formatting of numbers, dates, times, and currency values, as well
as support for differences in measurement units or text sorting order. Most operating
systems and many application programs currently maintain their own repositories of locale
data to support these conventions. But such data are often incomplete, idiosyncratic, or
gratuitously different from program to program. In the age of the internet, software
components must work together seamlessly, without the problems caused by these
discrepancies.

The CLDR project provides a general XML format, LDML, for the exchange of locale
information used in application and system software development, combined with a public
repository for a common set of locale data in that format. In this release, there are
major additions to the CLDR data, to the LDML specification, and in implementation
support.

The CLDR is continually being enhanced and extended, with CLDR 1.3 expected early in
2005. All new data or defect reports for CLDR 1.3 must be submitted no later than January
15, 2005.

For more information about the CLDR project, with details about the new features in
this release and the languages and territories supported, see
http://www.unicode.org/cldr/.

About the Unicode Consortium

The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organization founded to develop, extend and
promote use of the Unicode Standard and related globalization standards.

The membership of the consortium represents a broad spectrum of corporations and
organizations in the computer and information processing industry. Full members (the
highest level) are: Adobe Systems, L'Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie, AGFA
Monotype, Apple Computer, Government of India - Ministry of Information Technology,
Government of Pakistan - National Language Authority, HP, IBM, Justsystem, Microsoft,
Oracle, PeopleSoft, RLG, SAP, Sun Microsystems, and Sybase.